by Sydney Blackwell
The School Committee finalized a statement Friday that gives voters data on school demographics and details of the Devens contract. The committee earlier decided not to take a position on Trinity Financial's proposed redevelopment of Vicksburg Square. The project requires approval from Harvard, Ayer, and Shirley at special town meetings in each town this Wednesday.
“It, in effect, will constitute our position statement,” said School Committee Chair Keith Cheveralls at a meeting last Friday afternoon. “It is well-constructed, balanced information to the public without serving one thing or another.”
Cheveralls, who said he anticipated doing most of the talking for the School Committee at Town Meeting, said that he would not try to answer questions at the meeting that required speculation.
The statement addresses current and projected enrollment, per-student costs, and details of the current contract with MassDevelopment to educate Devens students, among other points.
The School Committee estimates an increased enrollment of 118 students from full occupancy at Vicksburg Square and an additional 170 students at full build-out at Devens under the current housing unit cap. As earlier reported in the Press, Superintendent Joe Connelly’s analysis of Harvard school demographic show a declining school population that could accommodate the projected 118 students from Vicksburg Square.
There are currently 61 students from Devens and 78 choice students from outside the district. The schools’ contract with MassDevelopment provides $13,476 for each student from Devens. The district is reimbursed $5,000 for each choice student.
Including one potential variable whose “impact is unknown,” the statement said, “Trinity Financial estimates the tenancy turnover rate of Vicksburg Square to be somewhere in the range of 15 to 20 percent. Harvard’s current turnover rate is 1 to 3 percent.”
The School Committee statement said, “The Harvard School Committee is confident in the district’s ability to provide a high quality education to any and all students. Students from Vicksburg Square would be welcome additions to our schools.”
Below is the complete School Committee statement that will be handed out at Special Town Meeting. It may be posted at the School Committee site, www.psharvard.org, before Wednesday.
The Harvard School Committee’s Response to the Vicksburg Square Proposal
The School Committee has been learning about the Vicksburg Square proposal to determine how it might affect the Harvard School District. School Committee members have engaged in meetings with both Mass Development and Trinity Financial; discussions with Harvard school administrators, teachers and students; and conversations with both Harvard and Devens residents and members of the Devens Education Advisory Committee (DEAC). Our focus during these discussions has been to assess the immediate and long-term impact of the Vicksburg Square development on the Harvard Schools and its students. While the School Committee neither officially endorses nor opposes the Vicksburg Square Proposal, we offer the following information to help Harvard residents in their consideration.
How many school-aged children are anticipated from the Vicksburg Square development?
Many attempts have been made to estimate the number of students that will eventually inhabit Vicksburg Square under full occupancy. The Vicksburg Square proposal calls for 246 rental units, comprised of one, two and three-bedrooms. 78 of those units will be reserved for senior housing, leaving 168 units for singles, couples or families. Initial estimates by Trinity Financial projected 145 students from these units. A second estimate reduced that number to 74. Harvard’s moderate estimate of 118 students includes students in grades K through 12 plus an allowance for any children requiring special education ages 3 through 22.
Can the Harvard School District accommodate the additional students projected from the Vicksburg Square Development?
In order to determine whether or not the Harvard School district could accommodate an additional 118 students with its current buildings and staffing the School Committee and Superintendent Dr. Joe Connelly did an analysis of current enrollment trends and space usage at both schools. Harvard is currently experiencing a moderate decline in enrollment in classes entering the elementary school. This decline, if it continues, would indicate that Harvard could accommodate the additional 118 students from Vicksburg Square. Furthermore, birthrates in the town of Harvard since 2007 project an even greater decline in enrollment could be possible. It is important to understand that growth models are not an exact science and the trend in declining enrollment could be altered by any number of influences including a stronger economic climate; families with children moving into town, an increase in birth rates, additional Devens build-out of the remaining 170 units allowed in the current by-laws, and other factors. It is also possible that should there be a higher than anticipated number of students in any one grade from Vicksburg Square, additional staffing and scheduling changes could be required.
What are the financial implications of the Vicksburg Square Proposal for the Harvard School District?
Currently, Mass Development has contracted with the Harvard School District to educate students residing in Devens. That contract (which was originally negotiated in 2006 for students attending The Bromfield School and subsequently for students at Hildreth Elementary School in 2008) had an original term of five years. The contract now renews annually on July 1st each year unless either party chooses to terminate it at which point there is a two-year exit clause. Under the conditions of the contract, Mass Development pays Harvard a per pupil tuition based on our total school expenditures as indicated on Schedule 19 ($13,476 in 2011). Currently this contract addresses the needs of the 61 Devens students attending Harvard’s schools and adds approximately $900k in revenue to the school budget. The addition of 118 potential students from Vicksburg Square under the current contract would mean an increase in annual revenues in the range of $1.6M to the Harvard Schools. These funds would be used to pay for any staff and program increases necessitated by the additional students while enhancing student services wherever possible. The School Committee originally questioned Mass Development’s ability to meet these financial commitments, however, Mass Development has recently assured the Harvard School Committee that it has the means and desire to continue educating Devens students in the Harvard Schools without altering the average cost per pupil arrangement.
If Vicksburg Square is not approved, how would the school district deal with a potential decline in enrollment?
For the past 15 years Harvard has been accepting students from other towns as part of the School Choice program. Under Mass General Law, the district is reimbursed $5,000 for each Choice student. The Harvard School district makes a conscious effort to maintain optimal class sizes and overall enrollment. The School Committee has judiciously used School Choice to fill in smaller classes as a way to preserve an optimal number of classes within each grade. Currently there are 78 Choice students attending Harvard Schools. In addition to balancing enrollments, the acceptance of Choice students generates $390,000 to help offset the school district’s budget. If Vicksburg Square is not approved, the Harvard School District will continue to accept Choice students as long as doing so does not incur any additional personnel costs. However, because the tuition for Choice students falls short of the per pupil cost of educating a student, relying on Choice is not a viable means of generating revenue for the schools in the long run. The use of Choice students in the future will always need to be balanced with the needs of the district. At some point the Harvard School District may face the decision of whether or not to increase our reliance on Choice students or revise our total enrollment targets and become a smaller district.
Would the addition of students from Vicksburg Square require any additional resources for the district?
The Harvard School Committee is confident in the district’s ability to provide a high quality education to any and all students. Students from Vicksburg Square would be welcome additions to our schools. Because Vicksburg Square is a unique development in the Commonwealth it is difficult to predict what, if any, additional resources would be required by the district to accommodate the needs of incoming and existing students. One potential variable foreseen by the School Committee is a likely increase in the number of students transitioning into and out of the district throughout the school year. Trinity Financial estimates the tenancy turnover rate of Vicksburg Square to be somewhere in the range of 15-20%. Harvard’s current turnover rate is 1-3%. The resulting impact of this variable on the dynamic of our classrooms is unknown. Meeting the needs of its students is the highest priority of the School District and changes of any kind require flexible problem solving and access to readily available resources should they be required. It will be necessary for the School Committee and Mass Development to maintain a contract agreement that allows Harvard to continue providing a high quality education for all its students.